Montreal Canadiens Fans Fall for April Fool's Day Hoax Involving Star Ivan Demidov

Montreal Canadiens fans fell for an Ivan Demidov report that had him signing in Russia for two more years. It went something along the lines of the following:

Ivan Demidov's situation with SKA has radically transformed. Having been reduced to the 13th forward spot and spending time on the bench in their playoff opener, he was placed back into the top six in a few minutes.

His positive play helped SKA achieve a crucial Game 3 win against Dynamo Moscow, preventing them from taking total dominance of the series.

Now, SKA has granted Demidov an extension of his contract, holding him under Roman Rotenberg's management until the 2026-27 season.

The news is a shock, given that Demidov had previously signaled he would debut in the NHL next season, a timeline shared by the Canadiens. That transition will now be delayed at least another couple of years.

To the outside world, the decision makes no sense. Rotenberg's handling of Demidov has been inconsistent, suppressing the growth of one of Russia's top young prospects since Kirill Kaprizov.

In Montreal, he would have been given a top-six role by a coach who was not afraid to let youth on the attack explode. An NHL top-six slot in 2025-26 seemed a foregone conclusion.

Now, Canadiens' fans will need to keep their eyes peeled on the KHL for the next couple of years. Unless, of course, this entire story is made up. April Fools!

Unfortunately, meant fans fell for this April Fools joke and admitted on X that they were definitely had.

Good news, Habs fans, you can now breathe, as it was a joke, and all signs still point to Demidov coming over to the team for next season.